Britney Spears

Born on December 2, 1981, Britney Spears was one of the first major female teen pop stars of the late ‘90s. The former All New Mickey Mouse Club cast member became a teen idol after the record-breaking releases of her first two albums, …Baby One More Time (1999) and Oops!… I Did It Again (2000).

The Princess of Pop released her third album, Britney, in 2001 and made her movie debut in Crossroads the following year. In 2003, she found success again with her fourth album, In the Zone, on which she collaborated with her longtime idol Madonna.

Spears made headlines in 2004 when she wed her childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas. Their marriage was annulled 55 hours later. By that July, she was engaged to her backup dancer Kevin Federline. Spears and K-Fed chronicled their whirlwind relationship on the reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. They married in October and went on to welcome two sons, Preston and Jayden.

Spears filed for divorce from Federline in 2006, just a few months before her personal struggles became worldwide news. She suffered a mental breakdown in 2007 that included an infamous head-shaving incident, multiple rehab stints and a psychiatric hospitalization.

In the midst of her struggles, the Grammy winner released two successful albums, Blackout (2007) and Circus (2008). Her lengthy legal battle with Federline came to an end when they agreed to share joint custody of their children. She also handed over all legal and business control to her father, Jamie Spears, in a conservatorship that went into effect in 2008.

Spears has since released three more albums, Femme Fatale (2011), Britney Jean (2013) and Glory (2017), and also worked as a judge for one season of the since-canceled U.S. version of The X Factor in 2012.

From 2013 to 2017, the Louisiana native embarked on a lucrative Las Vegas residency titled Britney: Piece of Me. She was set to launch a second residency, Domination, in 2019, but announced an indefinite career hiatus that January in the wake of her dad’s health issues. Spears sought mental health treatment again in March.

In June 2021, Spears publicly broke her silence about looking to end her conservatorship during an emotional hearing. Following the court appearance where she opened up about not being able to make any major personal or financial decisions, the performer was granted the right to choose her own attorney for the first time.

Shortly after Spears appointed Mathew Rosengart as part of her legal team, her father stepped down from his role in the conservatorship. In November 2021, the judge officially ended the “Gimme More” singer’s 13-year conservatorship.

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Since her marriage to Federline, Spears has had a series of high-profile relationships. She was engaged to her former manager Jason Trawick from 2011 to 2013, and later dated David Lucado for more than a year. She met personal trainer Sam Asghari on the set of her 2016 music video for “Slumber Party.” The duo announced that they were engaged five years later, tying the knot in June 2022.